


Destiny: A Bright New Light

by METALMOUTH364



Series: Destiny: A Bright New Light [1]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:55:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24015559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/METALMOUTH364/pseuds/METALMOUTH364
Summary: A story from the perspective of the Guardian, who has to deal with many different threats throughout their "Rebirth". However killing and life is not as simple for them as it may seem.
Series: Destiny: A Bright New Light [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1732183
Kudos: 5





	1. Prologue: The Guardian

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! If you want to skip straight to the story by all means go ahead, I just wanted to put this here for those that want to know what kind of stuff they're getting into. I just want to apologize ahead of time for putting this here. I know that at first this story will seem very generic, basic, and slow as it starts up - being based almost entirely off of dialogue and events in the game... But I promise I already have so many ideas and plans that I've been working on making sure it will fit in with it (I legitimately have a whole timeline planned out for when I want to do certain things). I'm posting this here because I was told that I should from many different people (girlfriend, friends, even some strangers online), and so I wanted to share this with those who may enjoy it. I will go ahead and say that parts of the story will in fact be changing (whether because I felt it should've went another way, or whether it just fits my story better). I plan on keeping this up to date, and I have certain days I'm thinking will work best for me, so I thought I'd go ahead and give those out... although if you don't see this story updated on one of these days, I promise the next time I do update it I will put a note and acknowledge what happened (whether just low motivation, or something changed). Currently the planned days are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I'm not sure what times just yet, but I will say it will most likely be sometime at night (atleast for me: 9-11PM CST). I am always happy to answer questions or messages, but I will say that I will be doing everything I can to NOT spoil anything in said messages. (Don't be afraid to suggest certain things or point out mistakes to me either, I can definitely miss something.) Also, I put the rating I did just to allow me some freedom to not have to worry about specifics too much... So I will say it shouldn't be anything TOO crazy, but I'll make a note if I feel it does actually fit the rating at some point. I'm new on here and hope I'm doing stuff right. Anyways... I hope you enjoy it!

I was brought to the Light in the times where it was a struggle. The ghosts had been released long before, but I wasn’t “Reborn” (as the other guardians usually say) until much later. I had no idea what I was being brought into, but my ghost had awakened me for a reason. Unfortunately it was the type of situation where it was inescapable.

I knew I had to serve the light, I just didn’t know my path. I had no idea everything I’d do... And what it would end up causing...

In my awakening, I fought against everything I had been told was a danger, or that was some “Entity of the Darkness”. It started with the Fallen, then the Hive, next the Vex, then finally the Cabal. I’d never truly defeat them, but I’d fight them off to keep them back. After we had reclaimed each planet - Earth, the Moon, Venus, and Mars (to an extent) - all guardians became a little stronger.

But of course, in anger, each species would come back harder. The Hive in the Dark Below in the Moon, the Fallen gathering themselves together against the Queen of the Awoken in the Reef (the asteroids surrounding the Solar System). The Dark Below, in his throne world, I Killed Crota... For the Queen, the “Kell of Kells”: Skolas...

Of course as anything, everything comes back... In anger of Crota’s death, the Hive gathered their strongest ships, and their warship - The Dreadnought - to come conquer and fight guardians directly. Once they had breached the Reef, the Queen came to face their ship and stop it from getting any closer. But even with the Queen’s Techeons and their “Tech Magic”, they could not stop the Hive… We had come to find that it was the Taken King: Father of Crota, creator of the Taken... Oryx.

A literal god, just as Crota was, but much stronger. He could “take” the will of any being, and command them into his own army. This became a huge threat to us guardians, and became known as the “Taken War”. I was sent to kill Oryx, but in the end in the mission the Vanguard ended up calling “Regicide”, Oryx extracted his powers from his sword, and he used it on himself to escape. Only later, with a Fireteam, would some Guardians including me kill Oryx... With the Taken having no leader, they had no true plan or strategy other than to take the Light.

To be honest I had begun to worry about what I was beginning to start... Because with everything I did, it only seemed to cause more problems.

After, the Fallen had become angry and hungry for power, so they went to find an old technology that would enhance any technology, but if not controlled, would ultimately be like an infection or virus. Unfortunately the Fallen had found a way to control it, and this virus called SIVA began to take over part of Earth. Lord Saladin - an old Iron Lord who has a dark past from dealing with the SIVA - called me to help. Because it was not a Vanguard mission, it was sort of a rogue mission. We destroyed SIVA at the source, and Lord Saladin gave me the title of Iron Lord, and Young Wolf.

But I only say these things to let you know what I’ve dealt with... I’ve had many friends, both through the Vanguard and guardians, and people like the Queen and Lord Saladin... But most of the time I would be running solo, and most of these people were veterans, still fighting hard...

What happened later was something I could’ve never predicted or expected... But in my life of fighting hard and doing nothing but protecting... What would happen next would change my life, and the lives of many... forever...


	2. Another Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Guardian is trying to relax around the Tower and enjoy himself. Unfortunately that seems to be somewhat difficult, with it being quite boring as of lately. However, very soon that would change...

My ghost and I had simple lives. Not saying it wasn’t hard, but the people I hung around always seemed to help me feel more comfortable.

I’d always been a quiet person, fairly secluded, and pretty introverted. My ghost would always update me on new information, but he wasn’t usually a talker. Yeah we had our normal conversations, but my ghost wasn’t one I considered a person I’d go to about what I was thinking. Although I suppose it wouldn’t matter because he was always there anyways.

My guardian friends were always helpful and talkative. They were the type to approach, not to wait to be approached. Of course I was the opposite, but that didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy them. Sometimes we would go into missions and just be complete idiots, and then sometimes completely serious.

But my favorite to visit, who was the Hunter Vanguard, was Cayde-6. A joker, a bit clumsy, but yet a badass. And definitely a good friend. He had this weird obsession with ramen, but I couldn’t blame him. The City’s ramen was always great. And he had this weird green alcohol he’d always have too, but I told him I wouldn’t dare try it. For one he’s an Exo, so I’ve never been sure if it’s even good for me as a human. And for another... he said it was “his own creation”, which already had me worried.

I would still always trust him though, he was a great person to go to. There were times I’d come to him just to talk, sometimes when I just needed to hear an absolutely stupid pun or joke. I used to laugh, but they’ve only gotten worse and all I can do is smile and say “Jesus Christ Cayde”. To which he’d always say “Hey, watch yourself. You say that around Zavala...” then give me a look like “you’re going to get an earful”.

Today was a different day... I’d been feeling down, like it had been too long since something happened. But not just down, extremely anxious. So I went to him, he was in his usual post in the lower part of the Tower, where the Vanguard always was. At the moment he was just looking at the map. Zavala was standing looking out toward the mountains outside of the Tower windows. Ikora was reading some kind of book. No one was doing much, so I went to Cayde. I always visited, so when he’d see me out of the corner of his eye he’d immediately turn towards me.

We’d seen each other so frequently, we’d just look at each other quietly and hold a thumbs up, so he could escape the Vanguard a lot easier.

We silently left, toward our usual ramen spot. Once we got there, we sat down, and he asked me his usual question.

Cayde-6: “What’s up kid?”

I sat silently, but finally turned to him.

The Guardian: “Something’s not right... I don’t know what but... I feel super anxious and to be honest... just not as...”

Cayde: “Hyped up?”

The Guardian: “Yeah...”

He looked at me.

Cayde: “You aren’t wrong to be a little anxious, I’ll admit it’s been kind of a weird feeling with nothing much going on... Kind of a stale feeling in the air. But maybe we should take advantage of that right now, before something DOES happen.”

I looked back at him.

The Guardian: “I suppose that’s true.”

Cayde: “Besides, we have TONS of ramen here, why not enjoy it huh? Plus some of my special drink!”

He held his drink towards me and I looked at it.

The Guardian: “Cayde no, I trust you, but I’m not sure I trust what’s in that drink.”

Cayde: “Oh come on! I’ve known you since you were ‘Reborn’ 4 years ago, even if it DOES actually kill you, you’ll just be resurrected anyways.”

You could tell he had that glare in his eye saying “Come on it’s GOOD”. I sighed...

The Guardian: “Cayde... how about this: you somehow convince Ikora to drink it - whatever happens - I’ll try it. I bet you can’t.”

I looked at him with a smirk, he looked at me surprised.

Cayde: “Hey kid, that’s no fair you know I can’t turn down a bet... Fine fine, but I swear...”

He shook his finger at me.

Cayde: “If I get in trouble for this, you’ll never hear the end of it.”

Then he smirked, and I smiled.

The Guardian: “Deal.”

I felt a little better, but this time I still felt a little down. My ghost came out from “my backpack” as he’d always call it.

Ghost: “You know, you mess with Cayde a lot.”

The Guardian: “Well yeah, because he messes with me, that damn alcohol of his... It’s green, I haven’t ever seen anything like it.”

Ghost: “Yeah but, are you sure it’s not just the way he colored it? That could be the whole joke you know.”

The Guardian: “Eh well I’ll see, it’s Cayde, he’ll do the bet I know it.”

I moved on through the Tower, did some vault organization, visited Ikora and discussed if her “Hidden” had discovered anything... they hadn't. She told me not to worry, that even if something happened, we’re always ready. Ikora’s always a great mentor and interesting person to talk to, but for some reason the pit in my stomach only felt worse.

I walked into the plaza of the Tower. I went toward the edge, put my hands on the railing, and stared down into the Last City. My ghost appeared, and came around my right shoulder and looked at me.

Ghost: “Guardian, are you okay? I’ve never seen you like this, especially for this long.”

A long pause. Only the background chatter of other guardians could be heard.

The Guardian: “I’ll be fine... I don’t know... I just... Everything is so serious around here anymore... After Oryx everyone seems a little more on edge... and all of my friends have essentially retired, mostly just staying in their assigned rooms... I don’t know I just...”

I stared into the city more intensely.

The Guardian: “We’re constantly going back and fighting and killing... yeah sure I have to sometimes... but... surely you agree with me this is getting repetitive... Every mission is extremely similar... There’s almost nothing... spontaneous I guess...”

My ghost moved right in front of me.

Ghost: “Guardian, I understand what you’re thinking, but... Like you said... Ever since Oryx the Vanguard has changed, and we have to follow what they give us. You’re not giving up on the Light are you?”

I didn’t expect that question, I knew I wasn’t giving up on it. I was more down that I just didn’t get much free time to myself, and even when I did, it was fairly minimal.

The Guardian: “No no... I just... it’s nothing, was just thinking I guess...”

My ghost looked at me questioningly.

Ghost: “Okay.”

He quietly vanished. I stood, still staring down into the Last City. It had just turned to dusk, and the Last City had begun lighting up for the night. I sighed. Such a beautiful city, with so many polite people. I smiled a little.

The Tower grew a little quieter, with less guardian chatter going on. Still a decent amount, but definitely not as busy as it was. Sleep wasn’t usually a concern of mine, because the ghosts could manage that. I sighed once again. I suppose I’ll find something to do, I bet as always the Vanguard is waiting to give me something to do. I turned from the railing, looking toward where the stairs leading to the Vanguard. When I turned, I saw a sight I’d never seen in my 4 years of being reborn.

A guardian, clearly just reborn the same day - maybe even the same hour - looking confused around the Tower. But this guardian wasn’t just confused... they were clearly upset. Frustrated, yet sad. Almost all the guardians I’ve seen might get confused, but never upset on their first day of rebirth. Ghosts usually stay silent, especially for the first day of rebirth except to give the guardian the basics. Once in the Tower, it was the guardian’s job to find their way around.

I felt sorry for the poor guardian, I knew how annoying it was for ghosts to be silent. The guardian moved to lean against the location of Tess Everis and the Postmaster, in the darker part where the lights had just recently broke. They sat down on the ground, and leaned their head on their knees. Definitely not crying, just upset and resting their head in frustration.

I slowly walked toward them. In getting closer, I noticed it was a Hunter (starting Hunter gear is very minimal and can look similar to the other two classes). She took off her helmet and placed it beside her, and returned her head to her knees. Not only that, a human woman. I got closer, and stopped... I looked around, no other guardians were paying her any attention. They were either chatting with other guardians, or busy doing measly tasks.

In me standing still, the woman stood up and started moving, her head raising up. I waited to see if she would notice me, and she did not. Still no one but me saw her. I started moving again, this time more normally so I didn’t seem weird. I got near her and she stopped, she looked at me a little shyly. Me being an introvert, stopped shyly too, but I forced myself to talk.

The Guardian: “... Uh hi there... Are you doing okay? You seem a little bit confused on where to go.”

She hung her head down a bit, then she spoke.

Female Hunter: “... Ha ha... actually yeah I am... Did you... see me earlier?...”

I looked at her sadly.

The Guardian: “Not for long...”

Female Hunter: “Oh... sorry... I can go somewhere else... if I can find somewhere...”

I stuck my hand out to stop her.

The Guardian: “No no you’re fine, I just... thought you might need some help. I know how frustrating it can be that your ghost won’t help you with your first time in the Tower.”

She was taken aback, I guess she didn’t expect me to be so open, especially with my ghost literally listening every moment.

Female Hunter: “Oh... thanks, yeah it is...”

The Guardian: “Here, tell me where you’re going and I’ll help ya out.”

Female Hunter: “Well... I need to go to the Hunter Vanguard... Cayde-something I think?”

The Guardian: “Oh perfect. Cayde’s a friend of mine, I can take you to him. You’ll love him to death he’s hilarious.”

She looked toward me and smiled through the darkness.

Female Hunter: “Thanks... I’m sure I will like him.”

I helped her up back into the bright lights of the Tower, to which I saw her face.

It was pretty... a fire in her eyes, a determination. Her smile was a sweet one. Her whole expression showed... well relief, but also excitement. Her hair seemed to be a base of a reddish-brown, while having a nice blue dye to it. Her hair was somewhat curly, and a little fuzzy looking. Even so, it seemed so well kept together, despite just leaving her very first fight. She was almost my height, although most of my gear was fairly bulky, so I could bet that she’d actually be the same height, maybe even taller than me.

There was so much more to her... I couldn’t describe it, but it was the kind of thing that I’d have to know her longer to understand. After staring a bit, I noticed how long it had been. I got a bit awkward, but then noticed she was trying to “understand” me too. I felt less awkward, and waited one more second. Finally, I spoke again.

The Guardian: “Come on, let’s go meet Cayde.”

I said it with a smile.

Female Hunter: “Alrighty, let’s go see him.”

She smiled back.


	3. A New Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Guardian takes his new friend to meet her Vanguard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! Sorry for the delay, I had a very busy day yesterday and I honestly ended up falling asleep getting ready to upload this... But here it is! I'll do my best to make sure there's no delays for the next set.

I guided the new Hunter to Cayde, trying to explain to her the easiest way to remember where he was, and also telling her what he’s like.

She would chuckle at some of the things I told her about Cayde... Like how he’s a bit clumsy, and definitely a joker. I would turn back to look at her just to make sure she understood where we were going. It was good I did, because she saw Shaxx - the host and creator of the Crucible - was one of the first. He’s a fairly loud, positive guy. He’s a Titan, so he’s a pretty large guy too. His armor completely his style and his only. He would always keep his helmet on though, so you could feel his expressions, but not see them. She walked up to him and inspected him. Of course he always greeted newcomers and invited them to the Crucible, so I wasn’t surprised when he spoke right up.

Shaxx: “Ah welcome Hunter! You seem to be looking for something, maybe a good fight?”

I saw her expression change very quickly, from excitement to worry.

Female Hunter: “Um... surely I’m not fighting you right? You seem a little too... well powerful for me.”

Shaxx being the man he his, laughed loudly and pointed his finger toward her.

Shaxx: “Oh I like you! No of course not, it would be a fair fight. I host the Crucible, a place for guardians to face each other to train.”

Then, her eyes lit back up with that fire I saw earlier.

Female Hunter: “Ooh ooh ooh! I love that sound of that!”

Shaxx again laughed.

Shaxx: “BEAUTIFUL! Then I shall be seeing you in the Crucible then! I want to see what you’re made of Hunter.”

You could tell he was smiling under his helmet. She felt it too, and smiled back.

Female Hunter: “Definitely.”

She smirked, and you could tell he liked that.

Shaxx: “And YOU Warlock, I hope to see you soon as well. It’s been a while since you’ve payed me a visit.”

The Guardian: “I will Shaxx I promise, I’ve been meaning to anyway. You know I like hearing your excitement.”

We left Shaxx’s station, and I guided her further down towards Cayde.

After Shaxx not many people are around until Cayde, so we just continued straight. Once we reached the room, she stopped and gazed around the room. It was definitely busy in the room, it always was. But it definitely was a sight... They were always very coordinated, all of the workers cleaning and maintaining the room.

The Guardian: “Come on, Cayde’s just down here.”

She nodded and followed silently. I put out my hand towards Cayde.

The Guardian: “And here’s Cayde-6, your Hunter Vanguard.”

Cayde turned toward us, and gave a big smile.

Cayde: “Oh hey kid! Oh and you brought a new friend. Fun! Hunter class, exciting. That means you’ll be checking with me pretty frequently. Hey, you like ramen?”

She got excited again.

Female Hunter: “I love ramen.”

Cayde: “Well good, my favorite spot to talk is a ramen shop. You two wanna join me there?”

We both looked at each other, surprisingly she asked me.

Female Hunter: “You want to go?”

She looked at me curiously to see if I would, and also how’d I’d react. Cayde looked in my direction with a questioning look, saying “She asked you if you wanted to? Hmm, interesting” with a smirk.

The Guardian: “Oh, well yeah of course. I love ramen.”

She gave another look of excitement. Her response was once again surprising, but it made me feel a little happier.

Female Hunter: “Yes! Alright I think we’re good to go.”

Cayde smiled, and shot me another smirk. _What’s with him? He smirks a lot, but not this much._

Cayde: “Alright newbie boobie, let’s go then!”

I froze in place. _Now THAT’S a joke Cayde NEVER makes._

Female Hunter: “WHAT?!?”

She burst into laughter, it echoed through the Vanguard hall. Zavala and Ikora finally turned to look in our direction. Zavala looked in complete disappointment, and Ikora looked surprised. I chuckled under my breath, and I guess Cayde heard me even while she was laughing.

Cayde: “See it’s a good joke! Even you chuckled, I haven’t heard you chuckle in a while.”

Cayde starting moving quickly toward the way we came from. You could tell he didn’t want to get a talking to from Zavala. The Hunter calmed down, and saw what was happening.

Cayde: “Alright, let’s get out of here before we piss Zavala off more.”

We quickly left, Cayde in front and me far behind with the Hunter in the middle.

Cayde: “Sorry about that, I can’t help myself with jokes like that... Of course you know me now. Well except for the actual fighting, but I haven’t left the Tower in a long time... It’s pretty boring up here.”

Female Hunter: “Oh no it’s fine, it seems really nice here, but I can see how it would be boring.”

Cayde: “Well, just like my other friend here does... No matter what class you are, you’re always welcome to talk to me and grab me for some ramen. Or grab me some ramen to go that’s good too.”

We continued walking, the Hunter slowed down to walk beside me.

Female Hunter: “He really is great, easy to get along with.”

The Guardian: “Yeah well it’s not difficult with him, especially when he’s as easy-going as he is.”

I explained to her the things I had heard about him, what a great Hunter warrior he was.

The Guardian: “He always puts up a good fight, no doubt. Never fought him myself, but I bet he’d kick my ass.”

I smirked at her.

The Guardian: “But... his biggest weakness is betting. Don’t be mean about it, but just mess with him a little.”

She smiled.

Female Hunter: “I’ll try it, if I get the chance.”

We kept walking toward the north side of the Tower, where the ramen shop was. Cayde kept fairly quiet himself, while the Hunter and I were completely silent.

Female Hunter: “Thanks for leading me to Cayde... For a Hunter I’m not very good at finding things...”

I was surprised, all her chipper nature seemed to leave.

The Guardian: “Hey it’s no problem, but you’re a new Hunter you couldn’t help that. I can tell you’ll be an amazing Hunter, it just takes a little time. You’re definitely an amazing person.”

That last phrase I surprised myself with, it just kind of came out. I felt a bit awkward then.

Female Hunter: “Oh...”

She paused, I felt myself get more embarrassed.

Female Hunter: “Thanks... It means a lot... No one approached me like you did, so it’s nice...”

I felt a little better then, I didn’t expect that answer.

Cayde: “Alrighty: M’lady Hunter, here is my favorite place to eat and visit, and the best ramen shop in the city.”


	4. A Gambler’s Guide to Vanguard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Guardian helps the Hunter get set up and ready to go in the Tower, while also having fun with Cayde.

We sat down at the ramen shop at the bar seats. We sat to where the Hunter could sit by Cayde, but I could still sit by her. Each time we would grab a bite of ramen, while Cayde was eating his bite he’d give another tip, speaking through his food.

Cayde: “Tip 1: Nepher piss off Zaffala.”

I kept watching the Hunter, and I could tell she thought it was great how informal Cayde was.

Cayde: “Tip 2: You can die, but be careffful. Be alert. Noffing’s more embarrisssin’ than getting kill’d by a Dreggg.”

Cayde finished his bite.

Cayde: “Tip 3: Don’t overdo anything TOO much. You can be an absolute badass, but don’t look like a prick doing it. I have a few friends who’re like that.”

Cayde: “Finally... seriously DO NOT underestimate your enemy, all it takes is a smart move.”

The Hunter looked at him seriously after smiling the whole time.

Female Hunter: “Alright.”

Cayde: “But don’t be boring okay? I do wanna see some badassery out of you. I don’t want to be the only one who’s a badass. Well except for Mr. Warlock behind you.”

The Hunter turned to me surprised.

I looked at her surprised, and shot Cayde a look. Of course he was smirking again. _I swear that damn Exo!_

The Guardian: “Well... I never thought of myself as one...”

Cayde: “Yeah right! You’ve saved the whole damn city! Got rid of a pure thing of Darkness at the Black Garden on Venus, killed a literal god - Crota a swordbearer of the Hive, captured Skolas the Kell of Kells - who almost brought the Fallen back together - then killed him in the Prison of Elders, and then... THEN you even killed Crota’s father, an even more powerful god - Oryx the Taken King - who can literally steal the will of any being and control them! Is that REALLY not the description of a badass?”

Cayde was rambling on about what I had done, and I started feeling embarrassed. I saw the excitement on her face though.

I froze up again. Sure I’d done a lot, but I didn’t expect praise from it. I turned toward the Hunter, and she was ESTATIC. I was thrown back from what I saw. There wasn’t just a flame in her eyes now, it was like a Sunsinger Warlock had just thrown at least a hundred Solar grenades.

Female Hunter: “You HAVE to teach me, show me how to be a good Guardian. Like you said I’ll be a good Hunter after practice... Maybe practicing with you!”

I was confused, and most certainly embarrassed.

The Guardian: “Um... why wouldn’t you do it with Cayde then? He’s a Hunter AND he’s good.”

She stopped and thought. Then she retorted.

Female Hunter: “But he’s always stuck in the Tower... wouldn’t actual experience help?”

That stumped me, and I could tell Cayde knew it. He had knew it would work. She looked at me hopingly. I’d never trained someone before, so I had no idea what I would do. Her look started changing to sadness, and that’s when I made my decision.

The Guardian: “...Well... okay... but I’m probably not a good teacher, but I suppose I’ll try...”

Her face lit back up, as bright as earlier.

Female Hunter: “...Really? Oh yes yes yes!”

She pumped her hands in the air, jumped off her bar seat, and did a cartwheel.

Cayde: “Damn kid! That agility is something else.”

I too was surprised, even though her armor restrained her agility, she sure did just about the normal amount of Hunter movement. She might just have more agility than most Hunters.

Female Hunter: “Thank you so much! I promise I won’t be difficult, and maybe we’ll even have some fun. Like using my agility and your space-magic!”

Cayde stopped moving completely, and his face went from smug, to completely obliterated. I was shocked, but her excitement was very... well infectious. So I decided to mess with Cayde, since he very obviously had finally been thrown off.

The Guardian: “Alright alright, we can do it whatever way you want. As long as you enjoy it.”

Female Hunter: “Oh thank you thank you! I can tell you won’t be strict, but I’m sure you’ll have some discipline.”

Cayde was fucking GONE, he was completely out of it. I shot him the best smug look I could, and he was absolutely instantly killed. I even saw all his lights go out and him shut down, him literally dying. The Hunter and I turned to him, and his ghost just confusedly commented.

Cayde’s Ghost: “Guardian down?”

His ghost revived him, and it talked again.

Cayde’s Ghost: “Cayde, are you okay? What happened? Why’d you shut down?”

He stood silent again, then finally answered.

Cayde: “Um... I don’t know. Too much ramen I guess?”

We both looked at his bowl. It WAS empty, I knew damn well that wasn’t why, but I’d accept it for his sake.

The Guardian: “Oh okay, don’t eat so fast then buddy.”

I winked at him, he saw and gave a look of “You’ll get away with it this time kid.” I smiled, I knew I would hear more about this from him later.

Female Hunter: “Oh, yeah Cayde be careful-“

Ikora: “Cayde! Come on back to the hall, we need you at your post!”

Cayde looked toward where we came from. We looked at him and he looked at us.

Cayde: “Well I guess I gotta go, you two be safe and have fun! Training... I mean. Don’t be afraid to test some things! Ugh-“

He was trailing off in the distance. The Hunter couldn’t seem to hear him, but I did.

Cayde (in the distance): “I should just stop talking, all I do is sound like a idiot. I try to joke and that damn kid turns it around, I swear-“

I smiled, I definitely wasn’t hearing the end of it. I turned to the Hunter.

The Guardian: “You finish all your ramen?”

Female Hunter: “Yeah I did, you want to train?”

I shook my head.

The Guardian: “We guardians don’t usually get sleep, but why don’t we get some. It might improve performance, even just a little bit.”

She nodded, smiling. She looked a little tired anyways. Ghosts can fix that, but it doesn’t hurt to be a normal human sometimes.

Female Hunter: “Okay, that sounds good.”

She went and got her room assignment, and we met back up to plan things for the morning.

The Guardian: “Alright, well I have plenty of free time at the moment... I know you won’t because you need to get leveled up with me. So just so you know sleep won’t be frequent.”

Female Hunter: “Alright, that’s fine, since ghosts cover that right?”

The Guardian: “Yup. So it should be no problem. Anyways... we’ll get up not too early - maybe 8ish - then we’ll start.”

Female Hunter: “Okay.”

I looked at her, she seemed happy and excited. She definitely wanted to sleep though.

Female Hunter: “Well... goodnight then.”

Again I was surprised, both not getting sleep frequently, and not really talking to people before sleeping I never would hear it. I felt warm.

The Guardian: “Goodnight, see you in the morning.”

I paused realizing I didn’t ask her for her name.

The Guardian: “Um... real quick, I never got your name... May I know what it is?”

She stopped and turned back to me.

Female Hunter: “Oh, sorry... Actually... I’ve been hoping to know my real name... but I guess... Dusk.”

The Guardian: “Dusk? Hmm an interesting name, any reason why?”

She looked at me and pointed to the purple designs on my armor.

Dusk: “Well... I like purple a lot, and the sky near night time can be so beautiful.”

She shrugged. I smiled.

The Guardian: “Well... I’m Metal Mouth... I found that part of my past but that was it... But you can just call me Metal if you want.”

Dusk: “Hmm, okay. I’m good with that... Goodnight Metal.”

Metal: “Goodnight Dusk.”

We both smiled at each other, stared for a few seconds, then left to our rooms. I layed down, smiling. I dreamt something for sure... but I have no idea what.

I just hope it was bright.


	5. Hovering Versus Jumping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Guardian - Metal Mouth - begins training his new Hunter friend Dusk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm uploading this late... Don't really have an excuse, just simply wasn't very motivated recently, but to make up for the delay, I have 4 more chapters! Hope you enjoy!

We both woke up about the same time it seemed. I woke up in a very good mood, and felt very relaxed. I couldn’t tell if it was sleeping, or the dreaming. We both met back at the plaza of the Tower. Dusk was extremely hyped to start training, and to be honest, so was I.

Metal: “Alright, so you’re able to make it to Old Russia, right?”

She nodded excitedly.

Dusk: “Yup, training there?”

Metal: “Yes we are, easy place to start. Definitely going to try to improve agility, but as a Hunter that’ll be no problem.”

Dusk nodded seriously.

Dusk: “Gotcha.”

Metal: “Alright, let’s head to there and we’ll continue.”

Dusk: “Alright, let’s do this!”

We got to our ships, and headed to Old Russia. In flying my ghost decided to appear.

Ghost: “You’re training another guardian? Vanguard usually does that, or atleast the ghost. And I heard what you said, sure I’m quiet but it’s what I’m supposed to do.”

I turned to my ghost.

Metal: “Sometimes what we’re supposed to do doesn’t end up actually helping. And it’s clear that hers isn’t helping much, and it’s also clear Cayde is somewhat preoccupied. So for now, I’m training her.”

My ghost sighed.

Ghost: “Okay, but don’t be surprised if Zavala gets upset with you.”

My ghost disappeared again. God sometimes ghosts are annoying. We made it to Old Russia, and of course spawned at the transmatt site.

Metal: “Alright, let’s start with your abilities so far. What do you have?”

Dusk: “Well... I think just double jump...”

Metal: “Hmm, that sounds about right. We’ll work on that while we’re finding you some better gear, that’s no problem. We’ll do a short training thing for your jump, and we’ll work on anything new later.”

She nodded.

Dusk: “Okay.”

We moved up toward a tall building.

Metal: “Alright. As a Hunter, height and distance is no issue to you. Sure Warlock’s such as myself and Titans can manage, but the ease of access to high and far places is one of your strong suits. I know you don’t have much to work with, but using your double jump I want you to analyze the environment and make it to the top of the building. We all have to analyze environment, but you mainly need to for either cover or movement.”

She looked around. I saw her analyzing hard, looking at all the rocks and other buildings nearby. She stopped, she saw a rock close by and standing up fairly high. Perfect. I watched silently as she sprinted to it, and jumped onto the rock.

Metal: “Good, now position yourself and find the best point to jump towards.”

She found a point, and jumped for it. She used her double jump a little too early, and missed. She used her hands and tried to clamber, but barely missed the ledge. She fell, but landed on her feet easily. She looked at me surprised, yet upset.

Metal: “It’s okay, you almost made it, keep going. Just remember you don’t have to double jump immediately after, you can wait a sec then do it.”

She tried again, listening to what I said. She jumped, waited a split second, then used her double jump. She made it to the top, and she celebrated.

Dusk: “I DID IT! I MADE IT! WOOOOHOOOO!!!”

I smiled, I knew she’d do just fine. After her celebration, I heard battlecries in the distance. Great, the Fallen. She heard them too, and stopped.

Dusk: “Sorry...”

Metal: “No it’s fine, that works perfectly actually. Now we can train on cover and fighting some more.”

She jumped back down, she was angelic doing it, landing on her feet with great flexibility.

Metal: “Alright, usually Fallen come in through ships, but sometimes they hide in buildings or caves. The battlecries I heard were towards that crash-landed ship there.”

I pointed to where it was, not very far from where we were.

Metal: “We’ll wait there for some.”

Dusk nodded, she pulled out her rifle. A Golden Age auto rifle: the Khovostov. Definitely not up to par with my weapons, but one of the most loved weapons. I had a refurbished version myself. I pulled out one one of my favorite and recently refurbished weapons. The Vanguard classic Shadow Price. Nothing too crazy, but definitely worth what it’s worth.

Metal: “Alright, let’s go.”

We both started to sprint that direction. Warlock’s were never fast, but have always held up. But damn, Dusk was quick for having base gear. We reached the ship, and both hid behind a rock to wait for the Fallen. I turned to Dusk.

Metal: “Alright, Fallen are no big deal. You should know that from rebirth. Now Fallen hate when we screw with their patrols, so we’ll clear them out and more will come.”

We started to hear a bit of Fallen chatter, they had just arrived.

Metal (whispering): “Alright, ready, set, go.”

We jumped out, and I stood back to aim. Dusk took a more aggressive strategy. At first I got concerned, but I watched as she had everything planned already. There were 4 Fallen: 2 Dregs, a Vandal, and a Shank. She went for the Shank first, which was a little farther from the group. She revealed her knife swiftly and stabbed in the middle of the Shank’s right thruster. Of course Shanks being weak, it died instantly. The explosion of the Shank alerted the rest, and they turned to face her. Both Dregs were closer, so she swiftly dropped down into a sliding position. Unfortunately it didn’t go exactly as planned, because she was cut short by a rock. The Dregs aimed their small pistols. She panicked a bit and sprayed her Khovostov, hitting them in the legs. Because of it, they never fired, and the horrible recoil helped her get a headshot, and she killed both Dregs. In her spraying, she had to reload. The Vandal began to escape, but I wouldn’t let him. While she reloaded, I sprinted - going faster than the Vandal - to which I ran up to the Vandal, grabbing him by the shoulder. I threw him to the ground, then got on top of him and grabbed his neck. The Vandal started trying to claw at me with his four arms. I punched him in the head, to which he got stunned. I walked a few feet from him, which he got up to get an advantage. But I had my Energy Drain melee ready. I did basically a force punch, and my void energy destroyed the Vandal, him quickly dissolving into the void.

I sighed. I used up too much energy for just that. I turned to look at Dusk, and she was horrified. I starting panicking. _Woah woah woah was that too much? Did I over do it?_ She stood in shock.

Dusk: “That Vandal just... Um wow...”

I started to feel bad. I’d always considered everything I fought (other than the Taken) with them having thoughts of their own.

Dusk: “That... that was AWESOME!!!”

She lit up so quickly, and I felt so relieved. Dusk rushed over to me.

Dusk: “Woah are you okay? Did I scare you? I’m sorry...”

Metal: “Oh no no no... it’s fine.”

She looked at me, somewhat sad.

Dusk: “Are you sure?”

That kind of threw me back, because I noticed she was genuinely concerned.

Metal: “No seriously I’m fine.”

Dusk: “You swear?”

Again surprised, but of course I answered.

Metal: “I swear. To be honest I was worried it seemed a little brutal...”

Dusk: “What? No! I know they think too, I could tell by how you fought. I tried that whole thing of not fighting them my first day... They weren’t very nice at all... I even tried talking, but it didn’t work...”

She looked a little sad. We were wearing our helmets, so it was hard to tell.

Dusk: “Are all of the enemies like that?... Unfriendly?...”

I was somewhat confused, but I suppose she was hoping there were those who weren’t like that.

Metal: “Most are, but not all. Variks is a Fallen, he’s a warden at the Prison of Elders. I mean at the moment that’s about it... But I know there’ll be more.”

She took off her helmet. She smiled a little bit.

Dusk: “Yeah, maybe we can eventually make some friends.”

She showed a big smile. I took off my helmet and I smiled back.

Metal: “Ya know, your moves back there were amazing. You either know what you’re doing, or you’re figuring things out quick.”

She seemed embarrassed, but still seemed happy.

Dusk: “Oh... thanks... you’re a great teacher, and definitely a great fighter...”

Then I felt a little embarrassed, but luckily it didn’t last long for both of us. We smiled at each other.

Metal: “Alrighty, let’s get you leveled up hmm?”


	6. Partners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Metal and Dusk train some more and spend some time together.

It was May whenever Dusk arrived, and now it was the beginning of September now.

Dusk and I had been proud partners for a while now. I trained her as best as I could, and she was insanely good. I wouldn’t say it was because of me, because she seemed to have a great handle on things already. Each day we’d practice, and every 2 weeks we’d switch to another destination. She got to know each enemy very well, and I even taught her some of the stories I had learned from Ikora about history. She seemed to be extremely interested in the stories: Hive Sword-Logic, all of the Fallen Houses, what the Vex were planning, and the little I knew about the Cabal. Of course I told her random crap too, just anything that was good to know or even funny.

We would also train in the Crucible about two times a week: once against each other, and once as a team. She was an extremely amazing fighter, and always seemed to have this great intuition about where I was. A Hunter thing I guess. Shaxx thought she was amazing, and he was happy we both used his Crucible to train each week. He especially loved our fights against each other, but I suppose that’s what the Crucible is.

We’d visit Cayde at the end of the day to give him a breakdown of how it was going, and I could tell Cayde was really happy for her. And also for me, because I actually had more going on. We’d go and eat some ramen with him every once in a while, and I could tell he loved it. Ever since that whole thing of messing with Cayde, that he was still slightly upset about it. Not mad, just... irked I guess.

Dusk and I had really grown ourselves a relationship. She had an amazing and awful sense of humor at the same time. Her puns were god awful, but I loved them to death. She seemed to grow a dirty sense of humor too (or she already had one and was messing with Cayde and I both), which would always make me laugh.

Like I said, she was insanely good... She got some amazing looking Hunter armor. It fit along with mine, except mine was more black and purple, while hers was more purple with gold tints. She got her armor to fit her fighting style perfectly: she was aggressive so agility was a big thing, but she also kept her armor fairly strong and bulky so that she could live through more shots than a usual Hunter. The armor was also very... “featureful”. She had all of her subclasses completed, so she could choose whatever fit the situation. Although like Cayde, she seemed to prefer Gunslinger.

Also... Our connection had seemed to be extremely strong. We fought amazingly together... but we got along very well too. We were way more open about what we thought about things, and with what we enjoyed doing. We took a few days off just to chill together, and we ended up doing lots of things. I found out she loves tea a ton, she hates egotistical people (except Cayde, because of the way he’s about it), she’d never seen a horror movie... oh and so much more, but I’m ranting. Today was another day off of training, and I couldn’t wait to spend some time with her.

Every time we’d had days off, we just messed around in destinations with armor on... but now we were going into the city without our armor. I tried to wear something simple, but nice. A simple collared shirt, and some jeans. I walked out to the Tower plaza. My ghost was still with me, with some weapons and my armor as well just to be safe. Dusk had sent me a message saying she was waiting at the bottom of the elevator to the Tower, so I headed toward the elevator and headed down.

I felt so much different about today, I felt so anxious but excited. My ghost decided to appear.

Ghost: “What is up with you recently? You’ve changed a lot, and I’m not quite sure if it’s good or bad.”

Metal: “I’m just... enjoying myself while I can, just like Cayde said I should do.”

We got closer to the bottom, only 20 floors left.

Ghost: “Well whatever, I’ll just be here.”

My ghost disappeared again _. I’m a person, I can do whatever I see fit. Reasonably sure... but I still can_. I looked up and smiled, 3 floors to go. I couldn’t wait to have fun with Dusk. Last floor, I felt my heart jump, then I took a deep breath and waited for the doors. When they opened...

Dusk stood, of course no armor, in a beautiful black dress. She had her hair different than usual, in a very simple but nice ponytail. She was smiling, clearly happy to see me.

Dusk: “Do you like it? Do I look nice?”

My heart skipped a beat, I didn’t expect that at all.

Metal: “Oh... Um yeah, you look... Well bluntly very pretty.”

She blushed hard, but she clearly meant it.

Dusk: “Thanks... you look handsome.”

I blushed too.

Dusk: “So... you wanna see a movie?”

Metal: “Sure, what kind of movie?”

She stopped, we knew what movies we liked but not much was on. Then I had an idea...

Metal: “You still haven’t seen a horror movie have you?”

She looked at me, she smiled.

Dusk: “No I haven’t, I’m good for that. Just don’t be surprised if I get scared easily... As a guardian I do fine... but otherwise...”

Metal: “Oh it’s all good, just always remember it’s not real.”

We walked close beside each other toward one of the Last City’s theaters. We had some time before the movie started, so we sat down to grab a bite to eat. Guardian food was always free, but we wanted to be generous and just be like a normal civilian, so we used our Glimmer (We had plenty to spare, so of course we would use it). We went to a nice, yet simple restaurant with “Old Age American” food. Compared to the complexity of the new kinds of food, it was definitely refreshing. We both smiled and cracked jokes together. It was a little awkward, but it was still nice. It was more of my awkwardness, since I’m introverted. We talked about how we were both doing, the simple stuff. Then she pulled a question on me I didn’t expect.

Dusk: “Hey Metal... do you like me?”

I was blown away, for multiple reasons. 1. If I didn’t I wouldn’t be this happy. 2. Of course I did, she had all the qualities I liked. And 3. I wouldn’t be in this situation unless I did.

Metal: “Well of course I do Dusk. Sure it was a thing that only time would tell in the beginning... but that’s how it always is. And everything we’ve done together, and all you’ve given me to like about you... well it’s the best thing I’ve had in a while.”

Dusk blushed, I did a little bit too. I realized what she ACTUALLY meant, and that’s when I blushed even more. She... she liked me back. I felt so happy, like absolutely nothing else.

Metal: “I... I think I love you Dusk... Like a lot...”

She looked up in shock, like she didn’t expect me to be that direct. She blushed almost as red as a beet.

Dusk: “I... I... I love you too Metal.”

We smiled together. That was the most spontaneous thing I’d done in a while... and it felt amazing. We collected ourselves, and left the restaurant. The movie was going to start soon, and luckily the theater we chose was just within about two blocks. We got there and ordered our tickets. We went in to the correct room for our horror movie, and we realized something. We were almost late and yet there wasn’t anyone but ourselves in the theater. We smiled. That would make it so much more fun.

We sat beside each other and our movie began.

When it started it was simple, but I was surprised how good it was. Slowly the movie got scarier and scarier, and It came to a point where Dusk and I were screaming “WHAT ARE YOU DOING THAT'S DUMB”. I was loving it... Not to mention right before that, she got scared and came to lay on me and hold onto me. I felt so warm and nice... I’d never felt that way before. The movie came to an end, and we were all up against each other. We got up, smiled and talked about the movie. We headed back towards the Tower together, side by side, still talking about the movie. We went up the elevator, and after we got off, moved to the railing to the Tower toward the Last City. We stood only a few centimeters from each other, arms resting on the railing. It was clear some kind of storm was coming, but it was the end of the summer so the wind was nice. Dusk eventually put her hand towards me, and I held it. Her grip was soft and reassuring, yet somewhat firm. Like she never wanted it to end. After a good while, she turned to me.

Dusk: “Hey Metal, would you want to go to Old Russia with me for a bit? I thought we could enjoy where we first started our training together... as partners.”

She looked at me questioningly, smiling nonetheless.

Metal: “Of course I would, that sounds fun.”

We decided to just ride in the same ship, so we took one of the Amanda Holiday’s ships to go visit. Holiday was always generous, her policy sometimes being "no questions asked". She cracked a joke about the whole thing back a few years ago where Cayde stole Eris Morn’s ship for me, but she let us by easily. We traveled quickly there, and landed safely. Luckily the storm still hadn’t gotten bad yet, so we got out to take advantage of the weather.

We sat down near the building where she first jumped onto. We sat right beside each other, and Dusk layed her head on my shoulder.

Dusk: “This was an amazing day Metal. I’m so glad we went out together...”

I smiled.

Metal: “I’m glad too Dusk, I enjoyed it so much.”


	7. A Red Glare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Metal Mouth and Dusk begin to get ready to return from their fun, but what happens next changes everything...

Dusk and I finished our sitting together. The Fallen decided to do a little ambush, so we equipped all our gear and had some fun fighting them. Then we jumped in the ship and headed to the Tower. The storm was near the Tower and hovering some over us, and had just begun. The rain came first, then the occasional lightning.

We talked to each other until we reached the clouds. My ghost popped out suddenly.

Ghost: “Guardian, I can’t seem to get contact with the Tower. I don’t know what’s wrong but something’s up.”

I turned to my ghost confused.

Metal: “Huh? Did you try the Emergency Frequency?”

Ghost: “Not yet, but that’s the next thing.”

I suddenly felt anxious. _Why weren’t they answering? They always answer._ Dusk looked worried too. My ghost tried the frequency, but nothing. We kept flying, I wanted to know what was up. _Maybe it’s a glitch or malfunction?_ We saw the end of the clouds we were in, and we left the clouds.

And what we saw, changed all of history forever...

We flew to the Tower as soon as we could. We were panicking harder than anytime we ever had. It was the Cabal, they were here, capturing the Traveler and firing missiles at the Tower. It looked like the Cabal somehow brought an entire armada straight to the Tower without being noticed whatsoever. Training couldn't have prepared us for this...

We landed as quickly as possible and jumped out.

Metal: “We have to move NOW. We have to do something quick, before they reach the city.”

Dusk was panicking just like I was.

Dusk: “But what if we can’t stop them?! What if we’re too-“

Metal: “Don’t say that, we have to try. I KNOW all the Vanguard must be fighting right know, we have to get to them.”

I started to panic more and more... I remembered on Oryx’s Dreadnought when I went to a terminal and I read something... Something about the Cabal sending some leader with his whole army... All because of Oryx and myself... They were pissed off... God DAMN IT.

We ran through the Tower, it being heavily damaged from the Cabal’s raid. We heard Zavala over the comms, and he was telling everyone exactly what to do. We fought the Cabal, then we found Cayde.

Cayde: “Hey you two, give me a sec.”

He swiftly pulled out his Golden Gun and killed three Cabal.

Cayde: “Zavala’s doing the hero thing in the plaza. Me, I’ve got a date with whoever is behind this. ‘Should be a short date.”

We tried to talk to him, but he was transmatted to somewhere else. We continued on. We killed every Cabal we saw, trying to figure out what was happening. Zavala and Ikora were helping defend the Tower. We kept going and going, until we found a commander and killed him. Then, Amanda Holiday flew in with a ship to pick us up. Our next destination was the Cabal command ship, we were going to charge in and end this.

Holiday dropped us off after a really rough flight, and we stormed the ship. We charged through hard, completely pummeling everything in sight. We were not going to let them win. We couldn’t let it happen.

Every colossus, every centurion, every single Cabal. Finally we reached the core of the ship, where we were going to destroy it so we could stop them. We fought hard. Dusk basically flew through the cylindrical room, running and jumping off of the wall. I mostly fought down low, keeping Cabal off of her.

We worked together synchronized, knowing each other’s move and using it to get rid of the Cabal. Finally, we destroyed the core. After, my Ghost tried to get back to Holiday.

Ghost: “Amanda, we’re ready to go! Amanda? Amanda?!”

Nothing, completely silent. We ran to our extraction point, ready to leave. But... Holiday was no where in sight. Communication was silent. We were alone.

Dusk and I looked at each other. Almost all of the Cabal armada was still intact. We weren’t sure what to do next. My Ghost appeared, and looked at me almost in fear.

Ghost: “How do we come back from this?”

We were looking over the edge of the landing pad.

???: “You don’t.”

We all froze, and turned back toward the exit we came through.

A large Cabal, walked out through the door way. Clearly must have been the leader of them. Wearing white and gold rather than the rest of the Cabals’ red and black. His armor was extremely unique, and he was definitely at least 10 times our size.

We stood in silence. At this point we were ready to take him down. Then he pointed his hand out, and once again spoke.

???: “Welcome to a world without Light.”

We turned to where we pointed, and the peak of our fear showed. He had pointed to the Traveler. The cage the Cabal has put on it began to grow a strong orange and red color. Then... it happened...

I began to feel extremely weak, and felt like I couldn’t stand. Dusk fell to the ground, and my Ghost spoke in a very strangled voice.

Ghost: “Guardian... something’s wrong...”

My Ghost fell to the ground, no longer floating. His bright blue eye, faded to black. I felt myself give out, and I fell to my knees, using my hands to support me.

The large Cabal began walking towards us, I grabbed my ghost and dragged him with what strength I still had. The Cabal now stood in front of me, and I looked up at him. Apparently Dusk had crawled to behind me, because she was much closer now.

I looked up at the Cabal, him looking down upon me. He spoke once again.

???: “Do NOT look at me... CREATURE.”

He swiped his hand at me, his strength immense. He punted Dusk and I both near the edge of the landing pad.

???: “You are WEAK, undisciplined. Cowering behind walls. You’re not brave, you have merely forgotten the fear of death.”

The Cabal crouched down to us, and looked at us. Clearly confident he knew what he was doing.

???: “Allow me to reacquaint you...”

This time he used his entire arm and shoulder, throwing us right at the very edge of the landing pad. I lost grip of my Ghost, and he fell down over the edge down to earth.

???: “Your kind never deserved the power you were given.”

The Cabal once again came closer to us. Stopping right in front of us again. I tried to stand up, but all I could do was barely look back up at him.

???: “I am Ghaul, and your Light...”

He pointed to the Traveler...

Ghaul: “Is MINE.”

He picked up his foot, Dusk grabbed my hand, clearly scared. And with little force, Ghaul pushed me over, and I began to fall over the edge, Dusk now following...

And in that moment I felt myself fade away... too weak to keep awake for the fall...


	8. Survival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Metal Mouth and Dusk must survive in a life that is nothing like they've dealt with before.

I don’t know what happened after Ghaul pushed Dusk and I over the ledge... But I do know we hit the ground... and hard...

I had some kind of vision... It had weird triangle shapes... A huge planet-eating thing I think... A sword, staff, and shield... A bird guiding me through these things... and finally to somewhere on Earth, a place very exotic looking...

It must’ve been a long while, because when I finally opened my eyes it was late in the night. I was laying flat on the ground... Everything hurt horribly.

I got up feebly... The fall definitely caused a lot of things... My armor was destroyed, at this point essentially useless. However, I obviously survived the fall... and based on where I landed it looked like I hit the ground hard enough to leave a crater... I felt extremely sharp pains through my abdomen, and terrible pains in my feet and neck.

I slowly got up, clutching my stomach from the heavy internal pain. I had to move slowly and carefully. I couldn’t find Dusk around me... So I decided I would do everything I could to search for her. But it was clear that the Cabal had taken over the Last City entirely... Tanks and large patrols were everywhere.

I was as careful as I could be, and snuck slowly past the Cabal as best as I could. Not very far, I found Dusk. She had fallen in a similar fashion to me, except she wasn’t awake yet. Unless...

I came up to her and inspected her. Her armor was as bad as mine... A wrong fall is always possible though... so I had to double check... I slowly took off her helmet, to reveal her face. Luckily the helmets are really strong, so she didn’t get hurt very bad visibly. She definitely had a couple bruises and scrapes from the damage though... I took off my gloves, and put my fingers on her to check her pulse. She was still alive... just heavily unconscious.

Unfortunately there definitely was no way I was going to be able to pick her up... I was in too bad of shape. But I had to try... I couldn’t risk us staying here...

I grabbed her under her legs and behind her back, and used all the strength I had. I could barely hold her up with how weak I was, but we had to move... So I slowly and careful held her and moved closer and closer to the wall of the city.

I got very close to it, then I felt my legs give out... I fell to the ground, and dropped Dusk in front of me. I wasn’t full of energy at all... I didn’t feel good whatsoever.

Then... I saw something in the distance... a faint light... Slightly flickering, but still keeping its light... It was getting closer and closer...

I tried to move, but it hurt too much, and I didn’t have enough energy. It’s the Cabal... I know it... It was gaining slowly. Probably a patrol... I was too weak to do anything... so I sat hopelessly, I turned to see Dusk laying still unconscious... I felt all of me give out, I felt myself start to give up. There was no way out of this, and there was no use in trying...

I closed my eyes. I felt like I could drift off... I felt the presence of whatever the light was coming from. I waited for it to get to me. Then I heard something I didn’t expect...

???: “G- Guardian?”

The voice sounded damaged, but like it was from some kind of speaker. I opened my eyes. In front of me was my Ghost, barely floating in front of me, clearly damaged from the fall. I felt relief. My Ghost looked at me, clearly happy I was alive. But I could tell he was feeling just as drained as me.

Ghost: “I- I’ve been s- searching a while, hoping I could f- find you.”

He came up to me, and opened himself up like he would to heal me.

Ghost: “I- I can heal you... but I c- can’t revive you...”

He moved to me and healed me up. Unfortunately Ghosts can’t heal other Guardians, only their Guardian. I still felt weaker, but I definitely had the energy back, and some of my wounds seemed to have healed. I had all of my gear, but they were all heavily damaged... I’d have to fight using poor weapons. I stood back up, with what strength I had recovered. I equipped a pistol, and put Dusk over my shoulder. We still had a little bit to go until we made it out of the city.

I still didn’t have confidence... but I had to move if we were going to survive. Luckily the way I went had no Cabal patrolling that way, and I found a hole to which we could escape through. We made our exit, and began to traverse our way out of Cabal territory...

Four days later after getting out of the city. A falcon was perched on a rock up near me, watching me. As I continued moving, it flew in front of me, going the same direction I was going to go. I had begun to get concerned, because Dusk was still unconscious... But hopefully this falcon was leading me to something.

Unfortunately I came to realize that pistol had no ammo with it anymore... Any I did have must have been damaged in the fall. But the rest of my weapons were essentially unusable, so I just had to keep moving. Following the falcon, it lead me to a Guardian camp. Unfortunately all of them were dead... But I found an intact SMG, and some ammo for my pistol.

I kept following the falcon. I was going to stop to see if I could check on Dusk, but we reached a small enclosed area, where some Cabal with their hound-alien things ambushed me. Luckily they were weak, and it didn’t take but a melee or a few bullets to kill them. I took a break after the ambush, and sat down. The falcon sat on a rock waiting for me.

I laid Dusk down on a mat near the camp, and looked at her. She was still breathing fine. I tried to wake her up carefully, as not to hurt her. Nothing. I began to worry more, for what was wrong. My Ghost came out to inspect her. He looked her over and analyzed her.

Ghost: “G- Guardian, I’m really not s- sure what’s wrong here. She’s simply j- just unconscious.”

I became extremely confused, nothing wrong internally, so what could it be? My Ghost and I sat confused as to what was wrong. I wanted to find out before we traveled any further, but I didn’t understand. Then suddenly...

Dusk: “Oh, hey you two... You two alright?... that sure was a nasty fall.”

She woke up instantly, and started a conversation with us immediately. My Ghost and I were shocked and utterly confused. Then, Dusk seemed to realize something.

Dusk: “Wait wait! We fell... and... our... our Light... It’s...”

Dusk’s energy she had from the beginning of the sentence drained quickly. She fell to her knees on the ground. She started sobbing.

Dusk: “But I saw a vision... everything was so bright... and, and... like everything would be okay... but... we don’t have the Light anymore... how...”

She began crying a little bit harder. I felt adrenaline rush to me. I came over to her to comfort her first, then I’d ask later about that vision.

Metal: “Hey hey, everything will be fine. We’ve made it this far... And besides, we’re Guardians... We do what is seen as impossible anyways.”

Her sobbing slowed down.

Metal: “All we have to do is keep moving, we might not have a lot going for us right now... but we should take what we can get.”

Dusk grabbed my hand and looked at me.

Dusk: “You promise it’ll be okay?...”

I was thrown back from that question, because I didn’t actually have that confidence in me... But I had to be positive, and there was definitely a chance we could pull it off.

Metal: “I promise.”

Dusk looked at me, then nodded. She stood up, still fairly weak, but probably about as strong as I was. I handed her the SMG I found, and we trekked on.


	9. Change of Pace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Metal Mouth and Dusk continue their way away from the Last City... But their pathway changes, and ends up taking them another direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! I apologize to anyone who might have been here the moment I posted this the first time. I realized I wasn't happy with this chapter or the next one, so I took some time to edit them more to my liking. I hope that you enjoy the new edit!

It was now a week after the Cabal’s attack on the city. The number of Cabal had definitely dropped drastically out this far. At this point, we had made it into a snowy area. We weren’t sure where we were, but it was possible we were back in another section of Old Russia.

We kept moving through, finding another small Cabal patrol, but quickly disposing of them and continuing on. The falcon was still leading us. Dusk had been extremely quiet the entire time, and I kept meaning to ask about the vision she mentioned, but I worried for what she was thinking. Soon we came to some cliffs, to which we had to traverse along the side of to continue on.

We crossed along a log to continue, and reached a place to jump across to. The falcon was waiting for us across, waiting. I stoped to look at the gap. It seemed like it was possible, but I wasn’t sure. Dusk must’ve saw the same thing.

Dusk: “Are you sure we can make it?”

Metal: “I think so... just be careful.”

Dusk looked at the gap, then back at me.

Dusk: “Can you go first? I don’t know I...”

I answered.

Metal: “Yeah that’s fine, I’ll be okay.”

I steadied myself, then went for the jump. I thought I was going to make it, but I couldn’t... I reached my hands out to grab for the ledge, but I didn’t catch it.

Dusk screamed my name as I fell. I heard her jump I think, and she came with me. I hit the ground hard, and everything went black.

I woke back up not long after, with Dusk there with me. She was holding me, making sure I was okay. She looked so relieved when I woke up. She pointed to the falcon, to which flew a little further, then flew to someone... Someone we definitely hadn’t met. She brought in a group of ships, ones that were frequently used in the Last City.

???: “Huh, they leave Guardians lying around these days?”

She held out a hand to help me up. I grabbed it as not to seem rude. We heard a gunshot.

???: “And that’s our cue, come on people let’s move!”

My Ghost came out weakly, and Dusk stood up beside me.

Ghost: “W-Wait, where are you a- all going?”

???: “As far away from here as possible.”

The falcon on her arm started squawking a bit. I spoke up.

Metal: “That falcon... it’s yours?”

???: “Yeah, sorry should’ve introduced myself... I’m Hawthorne, and this is Louis... best flier you’ll ever see.”

I realized it then... That definitely was the falcon from that vision... We had to go with it.

Metal: “Can we go with you? We want to help however we can.”

Hawthorne looked at us curiously, then answered.

Hawthorne: “I don’t know how much use you’ll be, but I suppose more help is better.”

Dusk looked at me confused, but also as if she wouldn’t mind to help. Hawthorne invited us into her ship, and we set off. As Dusk and I sat in the ship, Dusk was nodding off, and to be honest so was I. We hadn’t gotten much rest trying to get away from the Cabal and the Last City. About 5 minutes later, Dusk nodded off to sleep, and almost immediately after her I did too. In my sleep, something odd happened…

I began having another vision, but this one seemed different… It was less of a vision and more of a dream, where I could only hear voices… I couldn’t make them out, and I couldn’t seem to get all of the things they were saying…

??? #1: “Do you see…”

??? #1: “Grace me…”

??? #1: ”Take your place at the center of my empire!”

??? #1: “See me…”

Someone else entered my odd dream, but I couldn’t get the first thing they said.

??? #2: “The city is secure. Those who fled…

??? #2: “…and those…”

??? #2: “…have been executed.”

??? #2: “…as with all things, is yours to claim.”

I began to feel frustrated. _Why can’t I understand everything?_

??? #1: “…as much yours as mine, old friend.”

??? #2: “All that remains…”

??? #2: “Then we may begin…”

The first person said something I couldn’t understand. Over time I became more and more frustrated, because I wasn’t learning anything from any of this. Whatever THIS was. The second figure said something as well, but once again I couldn’t hear it. It seemed like perhaps my internal dialogue was causing me to slowly start losing this dream, so I mentally calmed myself.

??? #1: “Yet they believe…”

I couldn’t understand why I was only getting bits and pieces, but I decided perhaps I was supposed to figure things out later. I once again missed something. _Enough thinking._

??? #2: “We have spent our lives, you and I, working to reshape our society… …reforge our people… …rebuild an empire nearly destroyed by Calus’s greed and corruption. There is nothing in this universe greater than you!”

I was about to start thinking again, but I missed another sentence. _God I’m so fucking stupid I need to shut up._

??? #2: “You will be called… What more would…?”

Clearly some sort of question. Then the connection felt stronger here, extremely strong for a brief second. I still couldn’t tell who it was, but I could understand exactly what was said.

??? #1: I would have words with my guest.”

I heard some sort of technology activating in the background, steam or some sort of gas escaping. I heard the technology whiring, and more activating and more gas escaping. Then suddenly… nothing. I thought confusedly, wondering what happened. Then I was once again awake. I felt well rested, I turned to look at Dusk. She had fallen deep asleep, and fell onto my shoulder. Both of our helmets were off, and I could see she was smiling in her sleep. I wiped my eyes and looked out the windows of the ship, and saw we were definitely getting close. I turned to look back at Dusk again, and then she began stirring. She wiped her eyes and looked up at me, she smiled. She then rubbed her eyes again and her mouth turned down slightly.

Dusk: “Did you have a weird dream too?”

I nodded. She looked at me curiously. She was about to ask a question, then Hawthorne began talking.

Hawthorne: “Coming up on the European Dead Zone. Gonna be our new home for a while.”


	10. European Dead Zone

Dusk and I looked out the window. The land was extraordinary, extremely beautiful.

It was a farm, out in a space called the European Dead Zone. It was lively, with some Guardians running about. Definitely battered like us, but looking for a good fight. Hawthorne has obviously made a good stronghold here. There was even a soccer field, where Guardians could relax and play games together.

We landed down, where I saw something... In the mountains, a large shard and smaller pieces colored white laid, almost like a whole separate environment.

Dusk and I saw it, and looked in awe. Again I realized... that it was in my vision. And I think Dusk saw it too.

Dusk: “Are those?...”

Metal: “I think that...”

Hawthorne: “It’s called the Shard of the Traveler, the damaged parts it dropped from the past. Extremely dangerous there, that’s Taken territory.”

We turned to Hawthorne.

Hawthorne: “Not sure why they like it there, but they’re definitely all holed-up in there. Definitely nothing we can mess with.”

Metal: “We have to get there, even a sliver of Light could help us... I don’t know how, but it could...”

Hawthorne looked me in the eyes.

Hawthorne: “What? Why? Just so you can die before even getting to it? And not only that, but basing it on a bet?”

I was taken aback, but I had no response. She was right...

Hawthorne: *Sigh* “Listen... I’ll try to help you all out, but you’ve gotta help us too like you said. I’ve got a few jobs for you, so let’s get them done.”

We looked at her. We had no choice, but we did want to help, we just had some hope...

Hawthorne: “I need you to go help a friend out in the European Dead Zone, his name’s Devrim. He needs a lot of help out there. Tons of Cabal, and definitely some remaining Fallen out there.”

Dusk: “Alright.”

Hawthorne nodded.

Hawthorne: “Thanks... he’s a good guy, and a great shot. I know you’ll find him.”

Hawthorne dropped Dusk and I off, and let us have a look around the farm. The view was beautiful, with the so-called Shard of the Traveler in the distance. We talked to someone we both recognized… Tyra Karn – an older cryptarch – who talked to us both about the Shard of the Traveler.

Tyra: “Losing my connection to the Light has been… disorienting. I understand that you seek the Shard of the Traveler?”

Dusk and I both nodded.

Tyra: “I, too, feel it’s strong tug. It’s jagged, broken edge. A wound that never heals. But I do not trust its pull.”

Dusk and I looked at her confusedly.

Tyra: “Like us, the Shard no longer knows the Light; not since the Traveler cast it off during the Collapse. For centuries it has twisted and corrupted everything around it. Where it lies is now a place of death. If you are truly determined to go, remember: Guardians are no longer immortal.”

Dusk and I thanked Tyra, and walked around some more. We felt more anxious about our journey to the Shard.

Dusk: “Maybe we should wait… I mean it looks like it is strong with the Light… But that’s because it looks like the Traveler and we know it obviously is…”

I nodded.

Metal: “Well… I definitely feel the same way… Like Tyra said, we don’t have the Light anymore…”

We decided to go talk to Hawthorne. She seemed to be trying to relax a bit, while still keeping an eye on things.

Hawthorne turned towards us, she could tell we wanted to talk so she went ahead and spoke first.

Hawthorne: “This is – hoo – a lot of civilization. For me, at least. ‘Course, I’ve been living outside of the City half my life. So. Huh. I know you all want to go to the Shard, and while it is still your choice… I would seriously consider otherwise. Like I said, Devrim and I will try to do what we can to help you out if you help us. I don’t want you to be the first refugee here that I’ve lost.”

Dusk rubbed the back of her neck, and I felt it too. We weren’t ready yet… no matter how much of an advantage it could end up being, well… being dead is definitely a much larger disadvantage.

Metal: “Well… We aren’t going to go just yet… From what we’ve been hearing around it’s not a good idea, so we won’t. Besides, we do want to help out.”

Hawthorne smiled, she could tell we meant it.

Hawthorne: “Thanks, really it means a lot. We’ve got enough going on around here as it is, so the more help the better.”

After, Hawthorne was generous pointed us to an extra ship she had, and she said that we could use it since it would be much faster that way. She gave us a safe frequency to contact her on if we ever needed to talk to her, and told us where she believed Devrim was. We thanked her for all of the help, and we got in the ship and set off to go help Devrim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! I just wanted to update you all for plans for this story. I'm going to change the times I upload chapters a little bit, and I am going to upload every Friday night (rather than every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night). The times will most likely stay the same (9PM-11PM Central Time), and I am still thinking that two chapters will work okay for me. I'm changing this because I think it will help me to be motivated, while not stressing myself to much where it doesn't feel like I'm doing it for fun anymore. Sorry if this somewhat messes with things, but I hope that you can still enjoy the story. I hope that everyone is doing okay and holding up in these times of Covid-19, and I hope that my story can at least help you forget these odd times we are in. Anyways... enough ranting, thank you so much to those who keep reading! I really appreciate it, and will say while I have a general plan as to what is going to happen... Even I am excited to see which way I decide to take this.


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